The Ponyville Grand Prix
by Arbarano
Summary: A prestigious sporting event comes to Ponyville, capturing the interest of one filly in particular.
1. Chapter 1

"I guess we aren't Cutie Mark Crusader Acrobats, are we?" came the voice of Sweetie Belle, muffled slightly due to its owner being pinned by a bright orange pegasus. Scootaloo quickly leapt off the white unicorn and lent a hoof, nodding despite her frown. Apple Bloom almost laughed at the rare sight of the pair agreeing, before a familiar thought snapped her back to reality.

"Ya never know!" she chirped gleefully, springing to her hooves and gazing back at her flank. Her smile soured as she saw that it was as bare and resolutely yellow as ever. A quick glance at the other two fillies told her that they were all still without their cutie marks. "_Darn._" Unable to look at her failure anymore, she turned to stare at the ground, ears and shoulders slumped.

"I still say we should try something that doesn't involve falling if we get it wrong," Sweetie Belle chimed in. "Like bird watching."

There was a pause, during which Apple Bloom noticed something on the wall next to the tree they had been using. A poster, and judging by the seal in the bottom corner it was something from The Mayor's office. Her curiosity piqued and head tilted, she trotted over for a closer look.

Scootaloo stared blankly at Sweetie Belle, before her lips twisted into a smirk. "Nah." With a quick shake of her head, the pegasus made her way over to her trusty scooter. "I say we head back to the clubhouse and think up something there!" She stopped for a moment as she put on her purple and white helmet. "There's gotta be _something_ we haven't tried yet."

"Sure. We could all do with a rest, anyway," said Sweetie Belle, hopping into the wagon fixed to the back of the scooter with a smile.

"Yeah…and that…" the vacant look briefly returned to Scootaloo's face, before she looked around for her other friend. She soon found the yellow earth pony, staring intently at a bland notice on the wall of a nearby house.

"Coming, Apple Bloom?"

"In a sec'!" Apple Bloom called back, returning to look at the poster with the small scooter emblem on the opposite side to The Mayor's seal.

_Attention Ponyvillians_

_A meeting has been scheduled to be held in the town square this Saturday at 2p.m., to discuss any issues surrounding the upcoming S1 Grand Prix event due to happen-_

"_APPLE BLOOM!_"

"Coming!" With as big a grin as she could muster, she ran towards the impatient pegasus, who set off the moment her hooves touched the wagon. Sweetie Belle quickly reached over to give her a helmet, and after putting it on she lay back in thought.

_It's just another town meetin', nothin' special_, Apple Bloom told herself as they darted past and between various ponies about town. Big Macintosh went to them every other Tuesday evening, and he always came back looking as bored as ever. But this one was supposed to happen on a Saturday. And what was that 'S1 Grand Prix'-thingy it mentioned?

"Guys, do you know what an 'Ess One Grand Pricks' is?" She tried her best to work her tongue around the odd word at the end. Sweetie Belle only shrugged, but from the front of the procession came a gasp that set their teeth on edge, and the pair were nearly thrown out of the wagon as they ground to a halt. The other two Crusaders stared at Scootaloo incredulously, their eyes only growing wider as she turned to face them and they saw just how enormous her grin was.

"Did you mean the S1 Grand Prix?" Scootaloo's tone buzzed with excitement.

"Uh…yeah, I think so…" Apple Bloom wasn't quite sure why the 'd' or 'x' were on the words when Scootaloo hadn't pronounced them, but quickly forgot about it: they _had_ learned odder spellings in school. "The poster back there said there's a meetin' this afternoon about it. What is it?"

Scootaloo's wings gave a quick burst, and if it were possible it seemed as if her smile grew further. "It's only the fastest, greatest, _coolest_ sport for pegasi outside of flying!" Her eyes shimmered, and her cheeks started to cover the very bottom of her eyes. The other two had only ever seen her look like this once before, when Ms Cheerilee had let her bring Rainbow Dash in for their class's Heroes Day. "I always wanted to see a race _live…_"

"Why? What's it about?" Sweetie Belle asked, as both she and Apple Bloom leaned forwards expectantly.

Scootaloo's grin was wiped away in an instant, replaced with a stare so wide that Apple Bloom wondered if a certain something had appeared on her hip. "You mean…you don't _know_?"

Apple Bloom felt inclined to roll her eyes, but instead joined Sweetie Belle in shaking her head. If this 'Grahn Prie' thingy was enough to get Scootaloo this worked up, then surely it _had_ to be exciting. The pegasus' smirk was back as quickly as it had vanished.

"Come on." She turned back to hunch over her handlebars. "I'll show you."

One exhilarating ride through Ponyville later, during which they had come very close to literally upsetting Applejack's apple cart as they whooshed by, the trio stopped outside Scootaloo's house. It was a small building, matching the rest of the town with its pale walls and thatched roof, but big enough for Scootaloo and her mother, who stood in the kitchen as they went inside.

"Hi Mom," said Scootaloo as she spotted the lilac-coated mare but didn't bother to stop.

"HI SUGAR PLUM!" Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle chorused as they followed the lead Crusader up the stairs. Their thundering hooves almost drowned out the elder pegasus's stunned reply, before all three darted to their left immediately after clearing the top step and into Scootaloo's room.

Even though she had been there before for sleepovers, it still took a moment for Apple Bloom's eyes to adjust to the onslaught of colour that was Scootaloo's bedroom. The walls were a brash orange that her friend could almost blend in with if not for her mane, with the only respite being a mouth-drawn picture of Rainbow Dash in mid-sonic rainboom—complete with lightning bolts and explosions—that sat just above the headboard.

"So…what're ya showin' us?" asked Apple Bloom, her gaze darting around the room. She briefly lingered on a picture of two fillies riding scooters at a speed similar to the one they had arrived at.

"Oh…it's over on the bookshelf," replied Scootaloo, trotting over to her wooden chest of drawers. The other two shared a look; her 'bookshelf' consisted of exactly three volumes, including the scrapbook of their Crusades. Her nose momentarily hovered over the cyan one in the middle, before pulling out the largest of the three.

"Here it is!"

Scootaloo held in her teeth a rather large, hardback book. It was mostly black, but with white peeking through where the edges had frayed. The front cover used the same two colours, though in an actual chequered pattern, which framed a slightly hazy photograph of a yellow filly with a wild, two-tone orange mane. She stood on a scooter, leaning against the handlebars and smirking confidently at the viewer.

Apple Bloom blinked. She recognised that pony from somewhere, but she couldn't quite put a name to that face. _Orange Zest? Citrus Burst?_

She was pulled from her thoughts as Scootaloo thrust the now-open book in front of her and Sweetie Belle, filling their vision with yet more pictures. Some were small and some were large. Some were in-colour and some were not. Some were clearly in the middle of bustling towns, and others were in the countryside of Equestria. But all showed the same thing: pegasi on scooters.

"Uh…Scootaloo?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"Yeah?"

"What _is_ all this?" She gestured a hoof at the pictures.

With a sigh, and her expression darkening for a moment, Scootaloo climbed up onto her bed. Tucking her legs underneath herself, she put the book by her side and motioned for her friends to join her.

"The S1 Grand Prix is a series of races held every year," she explained as Sweetie Belle finally settled on a cushion. "The fastest colts and fillies from _all over_ Equestria are pitted against each other on tracks made just for them. All they have to do is ride their scooters as _fast_ as _possible_ for a set number of laps, and the pony who covers the distance first is the winner."

"Sounds…_fun_!" squeaked Sweetie Belle. Apple Bloom matched her smile, too intrigued to point out to Scootaloo that she had seen her sister compete too many times to not know what a race was.

"That's not all of it, though. The top fifteen finishers from each race get a certain number of championship points. The better they finish, the more points they get, and after all of the year's races are over, whoever has the most points is crowned _Equestrian Champion_!" Scootaloo's glossy eyes returned as she gasped out those last two words.

"Wow! That must almost be as excitin' as getting yer cutie mark!" Apple Bloom said, to which Scootaloo vigorously nodded. "So, what happens if they become Champion?"

"Uh…they get a trophy. And Princess Celestia personally congratulates them."

"Huh?" Apple Bloom's eyes widened, and she pulled her head away from where it had been resting on her hooves. "That don't sound like much."

"Yeah. I thought you were gonna say they'd get a special cutie mark, or something like that," put in Sweetie Belle.

"Well, they do go down in history as a Champion." Scootaloo's beaming smile never wavered. "They're _all_ there in this book." She pointed at the black square. Apple Bloom stared at the volume for a moment, before turning back to face Scootaloo.

"What else's in there?"

"_Everything!_" Scootaloo exclaimed. "All the best riders, the best teams, the best tracks, and all the best _races!_" She jumped up with such ferocity that she nearly sent Sweetie Belle toppling out of sight. "The races are the _best_ thing about the Grand Prix, because they're always full of _action_. There's spins and crashes and overtakes and duels on the track like you wouldn't believe! Here!"

"Crashes? Duels? Does anypony ever get _hurt_ during these races?" asked Sweetie Belle as she regained her place, eyes wide as Scootaloo pulled the book in front of her.

"Nah," replied Scootaloo, glancing up from the pages as she hurriedly flicked through them. She spotted Sweetie Belle's sceptical look. "Not much, anyway. Cuts and bruises at most." For a few seconds, all the other two could see was her fuchsia mane as she clumsily worked through the book with her muzzle.

"There!" she cried, pointing a hoof. The other two darted to her sides, lowering their gazes to the paper. "This is a good one. The old ones _always_ are," assured Scootaloo, as she removed her foreleg and shifted to rest her head on it.

Apple Bloom saw just what she meant by 'old' when she caught sight of the photograph at the top of the page. It was a monochrome piece, showing three stallions on scooters that looked much bulkier than the one her friend owned. She quickly realised that it was taken during whichever race this was, as they were in a line while they turned a corner that could just be made out by the curve of the grass. All three had their heads wrapped with thick fabric where she and her friends would have their helmets, and goggles shielded their eyes. The pair at the back wore vests with the same winged logo on side, and both had stocky builds that reminded her of Big Macintosh. However, by the way that their nostrils flared and teeth gritted, they seemed to be struggling to keep up with the leader of the queue, despite the deep lines on his face and his comparatively paunchy frame.

"That's Cool Breeze."

"Huh?" Apple Bloom blinked as Scootaloo cut short her thinking.

"The one at the front's Cool Breeze," she replied, jabbing a hoof at the stallion in question. "He wiped the floor with everypony else in the early years, and was Champion six years in a row."

"Six _years_?" Sweetie Belle's voice cracked at the news, and Scootaloo nodded at the unicorn with an appreciatively wide smile. But Apple Bloom found a question forming.

"Hold on." Scootaloo's grin faltered and Apple Bloom saw her ears slacken slightly, but she carried on regardless. "If he was so amazin' and won _everythin'_ like you said he did, how was the racin' any good? Surely he'd be way out 'n front of all the others?"

The thought seemed to resonate with Sweetie Belle, who cocked her head she joined in looking expectantly at Scootaloo. Her affronted look held for a moment, but a smirk soon spread across her muzzle.

"Well, how about you read the story of the race and find out?" she suggested, once again pointing at the book. Still fairly brimming with curiosity, the other two followed her offer, and for a while the air in the room fell silent as they took in the story.

_960 ME Cloudsdale Grand Prix_

_This was the race where the forty-seven year old Cool Breeze could secure his sixth Equestrian Championship with two races left in the year. By doing so in such a majestic manner, he also cemented his place in the minds of many as the greatest ever._

_Team Prancer, spearheaded by one Lightning Bolt, once again proved that it could knock the ex-mail-pony off his perch in qualifying, setting a time 0.7 seconds quicker than Cool Breeze could manage for CRS. However, the difference was much smaller than in previous races, and he was able to split the Prancers to take second on the grid._

_The Cloudsdale circuit, with its long straights linked by gentle, flowing bends, was usually blazing hot by the time of its Grand Prix. This year, though, the weatherponies had left a light smattering of clouds over the circuit, ostensibly to bring about some variation. However, the cooler conditions also gave advantage to Team Prancer. With age taking its toll on him, Cool Breeze had made the most of his calm and cunning to accumulate his points cushion when others faltered, but the onus was now on him to add a dash of pace back into the mix._

_Lightning Bolt led away from the start, trailed by the slightest of margins by team-mate Olive Green and Cool Breeze. This trio quickly pulled away from the main pack, with the Prancers trying furiously to break away from the chasing CRS. However, with their home city floating high above, both Lightning Bolt and Olive Green were equally desperate to take the win, and their duel prevented Cool Breeze from losing sight of them. On lap twelve of thirty, Lightning Bolt ran wide at the final corner, allowing the CRS to slip by into second._

_Three laps later, it was the second Prancer's turn to make a costly error, with Cool Breeze now emerging at the head of the queue. Having saved his energy in the early stages, the time had now come._

_His next ten laps were among the finest anypony has ever ridden. As shown above, the Prancers would close the CRS down on the straights, only for Cool Breeze to staidly cling to the inside line through each corner, steadily upping the pace with each breathtaking tour. Backmarkers were passed on all sides, and the Prancers tried increasingly audacious moves while this occurred, but nothing could get Cool Breeze to relinquish his lead._

_With three laps to go, the three were all lapping six seconds quicker than their qualifying pace, but it was too much for Olive Green to bear. He pulled into the pitlane, having slowed right down on the track after pulling a wing muscle. It wasn't long before Lightning Bolt slowed to avoid a similar ailment, which allowed Cool Breeze to sublimely glide to his final victory. Having literally broken the opposition, riding at a speed he later admitted he would never dare to repeat, few would argue that he didn't deserve it._

"Scootaloo?"

The three fillies were jolted out of the greyish world that the tale had conjured and back into the ostentatiously-coloured bedroom. They turned to face the voice.

"Yeah, Mom?" Scootaloo asked the older pegasus, whose mane and tail colours she shared.

"I just thought you'd like to know that lunch is ready, sweetie," replied Sugar Plum, giving them a warm smile.

"Okay, I'll be down in a minute," said Scootaloo, grinning. Her mother nodded and trotted back down the stairs.

"You guys staying over?"

"Actually, Scootaloo…" Sweetie Belle mumbled, staring at the clock on the bedside table. "I better get going. I told Rarity I'd be home by noon."

"Same here," Apple Bloom added as a pang of hunger crept up on her. Thinking of the apple fritters waiting on the farmhouse table for her did little to help with those. "Sorry, Scoot. Ah did like lookin' at that book an' all, but Ah did promise Applejack…"

"Ah, don't worry about it." Scootaloo shook her head before jumping off the bed. "More cake for me!" Before the she could make it beyond the door, though, Apple Bloom spoke up again.

"Say, Scootaloo…" she began, eyeing the book.

* * *

><p><em>It wasn't long after the first scooter had been built and sold that the lucky colts and fillies who had been given them decided that the best thing they could do with their new toys was find out how fast they could make them go. Equally quick was the discovery that pegasi were able to do this to the greatest effect, and soon after there were races being held between them.<em>

Apple Bloom paused from reading to take another bite of tangy pastry. Scootaloo had let her borrow the book surprisingly easily, after mentioning that she would try to become a Cutie Mark Crusader Racing Historian, and she had galloped back to Sweet Apple Acres with it clasped in her mouth. Applejack had given her a blank stare once she caught sight of the book, but Apple Bloom had trotted away before her sister could find her voice again. Perched on the apple-patterned sofa in the farmhouse's small living room, she buried her muzzle in the introduction.

_The early Grands Prix were lax, informal affairs. There was little in the way of safety equipment, with canvas helmets being the full extent of most pegasus' precautions, and the only prize on offer was glory. There was also no distinction for different ages of the competitors; with the creation of larger, sturdier scooters, stallions and mares alike were soon joining in the fun._

_With the elder pegasi much quicker on the straights, but the lighter foals being much nimbler and faster through the corners, the racing was intense. However, there was still no real structure to it all. The format, length and field size fluctuated wildly between the races, with up to forty below Cloudsdale but as few as sixteen in Manete Cavallo. Many days saw more than one race, and so the possibility of depleted fields was realised all too often. That changed, however, in 952._

_This was the year that Silver Lining, who moonlighted as a Wonderbolts reserve between his business ventures, realised the potential of scooter racing. Not only was it a fine sport in and of itself, but it also trained wing muscles that could later be used in either aerobatics teams or in the airborne Pegasus Racing League. With the agreement of the competing teams, he created the Equestrian Scooter Racing Association, the governing body of the sport that persists to this day._

_The first Equestrian S1 Grand Prix Championship took place in 953, with the inaugural event being held at Trottingham with Princess Celestia herself in attendance. Thirty qualifiers, the new limit imposed by the ESRA, took part in a gruelling, three-hour blast around the ex-Wonderbolt training ground on the outskirts of the city. The victor was a rather tubby local mail-pony, by the name of Cool Breeze._

_For the next twenty years, the formula of the races went largely unchanged. Great names were made, and many titanic battles were fought on the great circuits of the era. However, during the 970s, it was becoming increasingly apparent that the all-ages style of the racing was not suitable for the sport as the level of competition continued to climb. The growing audience of the time bore witness to some frightening near-misses, as slower colts and fillies were lapped by the leaders, and whispers abounded of imminent rule changes. Then, on a tragic day in 978, one unlucky filly came within inches of losing her sight after a high-speed collision. She recovered, to an extent that nopony could have predicted, but the whisperings had become a roar._

_With Princess Celestia also adding her voice to the masses', the change was swift. The ESRA imposed an age limit for S1 Grand Prix races, to begin effect in 979. From that year on, a pony had to be sixteen years old or younger before the final race of that season in order to compete in S1 that year. The opposite was true of the new P1 category, which had been designated for stallions and mares._

_In the years since, there have been many other changes to the race procedures. Medical facilities have been upgraded, from one nurse-pony in a tent to a temporary hospital at each Championship round. Newer, stronger helmets have been introduced, along with protective pads on knees and ankles. The cloud-balls on the edge of the track have been extended to full barriers around the circuits, strong enough to absorb a pegasus out of control at speed, yet soft enough to shield them from injury. Great circuits have been lost, and new ones grown in their place._

_But some things have stayed the same. During the races, it's just the pegasi, their scooters, and their natural ability, fighting it out to be the very best._

Apple Bloom continued to work her way through the book, her eyes glued to the page with a diligence that Twilight Sparkle would have been proud of. After the introduction, the book moved on to a section about the greatest circuits that the author had felt inclined to include. The basic but vivid descriptions filled her head with cities and towns dotted about Equestria. Some of them she had only heard of before in class!

The challenging sweeps and curves at Bridlington. The flat-out blast through the vineyards of Rheins. The ultimate test of the Maneco race, where pegasi would thread themselves through the harbour-side with walls and cloud-barriers mere inches away. Sprinkled lightly between the tales of the tracks were brief asides to those of great races that had taken place on them, like the story of Mossy Meadows' victory at the P1-Ring near Fillydelphia. Apple Bloom giggled as she imagined the beaming pegasus crossing the finish line, only to fall off his scooter as he raised his hooves triumphantly, before picking himself up again and completing his victory lap still grinning from ear-to-ear. She only avoided waking Granny Smith by filling her mouth with dessert.

_It's a wonder Ah never heard about this Grand Prix stuff before._

Her wide smile soon slipped away as the thought washed over her. The giddy fluttering in her belly faded to nothing.

It had now been several months since she had become friends with her fellow Crusaders. From how excited Scootaloo had sounded about that poster earlier, and from that fact that she actually had a _book_ on the subject, racing seemed to be a massive part of her friend's life.

And she had only heard of it _now._

_Maybe Applejack's right… _she thought, letting out a quiet sigh. _Maybe we should slow down a little 'bout gettin' our cutie marks… It's like Ah don't even _know _mah friends outside a'that…_

She raised a hoof, ready to shut the book on a page titled 'Champions', but her ears perked as the silence around her was broken by a buzzing noise. A very familiar buzzing noise, one that only got louder the longer she listened. As she slid off the settee, it stopped, and was replaced by the unmistakable drumming of rapidly approaching hooves.


	2. Chapter 2

Apple Bloom almost leapt back up onto the sofa as the door slammed open, allowing two familiar fillies into the room.

"HI APPLE BLOOM!" Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle chorused, ending their gallop abruptly. They swayed a little as their hooves gripped the floorboards. Both were beaming at her, and Scootaloo bounced from hoof to hoof.

"Hey girls," Apple Bloom replied, glancing over at the rocking chair in the corner. Granny Smith opened one eye blearily, just managing to raise a wrinkled foreleg towards them, before it fell back to her blanket and she let out a snore.

Apple Bloom matched her friends' smiles, hoping that they couldn't see the slight strain she could feel in her cheeks. "What're you two doin' here?" she whispered.

Scootaloo's grin levelled out. "Don't you know what time it is?"

"No. Why's it important?"

"Because the town meeting's about to start!" Scootaloo buzzed her wings, her smile returning in full force.

"Town meeting?" Apple Bloom's eyes widened, and she stole a glance at the clock over the fireplace. If it was possible, she felt her eyes grow further. Whoa_!_ _Ah didn't think Ah was readin' for _that_ long…_

"Yeah," put in Sweetie Belle, pulling Apple Bloom back to face her. "Since we couldn't come up with any other ideas for our cutie marks, I thought we might be able to find out more about that Grand Prix stuff together." She looked at the two of them with a smile. "Plus, it'd be something we could do without falling off of something, or crashing into a wall, or…or anything like that. So I went to find Scoot…"

She pointed a hoof at Scootaloo.

"And _I _was thinking that if we went to the meeting we might be able to meet some of the _racers!_" Scootaloo yelled, this time taking off with her burst of excitement.

"Ah dunno, Scoot," said Apple Bloom, as the pegasus thudded back down. "That poster I saw said that this meetin'd be somethin' along the lines o' plannin'. It didn' look like somethin' the whole paddock'd show up to."

Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow at her, while Scootaloo simply looked stunned. "Wow…you really _did_ want to become a racing historian," she said, surprisingly softly but smirking nonetheless. Apple Bloom nodded, matching the expression.

Scootaloo let out a light snort. "Still." She planted a hoof. "None of the magazines have said anything other than rumours about a race in Ponyville yet. I bet if we go to that meeting, we might be able to get _tickets_ before anypony else!" The shimmer was back in her eyes now, and her hooves had resumed their jig.

"Wow…" Apple Bloom felt that fluttering in her belly beginning to pick up again as her imagination took over…

…_Standing by the barriers, she leaned forwards to catch a glimpse of the racers as they approached. She had to push her muzzle out extra-far to see around Scootaloo's cap as she hopped about by her side. The little orange pegasus was coated in just about every racing-themed shirt, hat, sock, ribbon and cape she could get herself into, even a weird foam-thing that made her hoof narrow to a point, which she raised high above her head. The three Crusaders cheered and whooped as the foals buzzed nearer, but they were soon drowned out by a great swell of noise from the surrounding crowd…_

"So that's when we came to get _you_, Apple Bloom," chirped Sweetie Belle, bursting the bubble in her mind's eye.

"Really?" Apple Bloom felt some of the tightness fade from her face.

"Yeah! We weren't gonna let a fellow Crusader miss that by reading in some stuffy old farmhouse, no matter how awesome that book is!" Scootaloo declared, raising a hoof with a proud smile. It faltered, however, and soon morphed into a more awkward, toothy grin as she chuckled.

Apple Bloom could feel some of her unease starting to dribble out of her chest under her friends' warm gazes, before the thoughts were brushed aside by a more pressing matter.

"Well…shouldn't we get goin' then?" she asked, looking at the clock. The other two followed her eyes.

Scootaloo's jaw almost hit the floor, before she dashed out the door with her wings buzzing away. After staring at the frame for a moment, Sweetie Belle turned back to Apple Bloom. She raised a hoof and opened her mouth, only for Scootaloo to poke her head around the door.

"Come on, Crusaders!" She beckoned them, purple eyes staring at the two of them imploringly though unable to hide her massive grin. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle matched it as they all shared a look.

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS MEETING ATTENDERS!"

The walls shook and ornaments juddered towards the edges of their shelves as their clarion call rang out, before all three ran out of the room. Apple Bloom was sure she could hear Granny Smith grumbling at the disturbance, though it was covered by their own excited giggles and cheers. They scampered into the yard, and Scootaloo made a flying leap to land on her scooter, followed swiftly by the other two diving into the wagon that she had just cleared. After taking a moment to right themselves and secure their helmets, they buzzed back towards Ponyville.

As the cluster of buildings loomed larger and larger ahead of them, Sweetie Belle turned to Apple Bloom. "So I guess that 'paddock'-thingy was in that book, right?"

Apple Bloom nodded. Sweetie Belle's smile grew, and her eyes twinkled with curiosity.

"What else _was_ in there? Scoot didn't say much about it… apart from _everything_!" Her voice cracked and she jumped up a little on the last word. Apple Bloom made to grab her hoof, but Sweetie Belle landed back in the wagon and they shared a brief giggle.

Apple Bloom drew in a deep, golden delicious-scented breath, ready to launch into her explanation-

"Apple Bloom!"

She had to stop her shoulders from sagging, and turned to face the waving fuchsia mane in front of them. "Yeah?"

"Where did that poster say the meeting's being held?"

* * *

><p>"Hey!"<p>

"Pardon me."

"Excuse me."

"Sorry…"

The trio gave the widest, most innocent smiles they could muster to the mare they had accidentally nudged, and spread out into the little space they had managed to find. They had spent what seemed like hours buzzing around the town and tip-hoofing their way through the crowd to find a spot where they could see the stage that always seemed to just appear for this sort of event. Fortunately, though, there was one thing that would keep them from missing anything really important.

"…and so, without further ado, I would like to welcome our esteemed guest for this afternoon," said The Mayor, raising a foreleg over her podium and beaming her polished, matronly smile. "The pony who made all of this possible, leader of the ESRA since its inception, mister Silver Lining!"

Apple Blooms ears perked as a great rumble spread through the mass of ponies, everyone stamping their hooves in greeting. The shaking soon began to die down and her eyes stopped blurring, allowing her to get a better focus on the greyish-white pegasus walking along the boards. His hooves caught against the wood once or twice, though his bony shoulders never allowed him to slip too far. His sides looked rather withered, though they were masked by strong, sleek wings. The slight breeze lifted what remained of his brown mane as if it were hay.

But beneath it blazed the yellow fires of his eyes, which cast a great hush over the sea of ponies as he reached the podium. He smiled.

"Thank you, Mayor Elderflower," he said, glancing at the mare, "and thank you all for such a warm welcome."

He spoke with a soft voice, barely above a whisper, reminding Apple Bloom of a certain yellow pegasus. Unlike Fluttershy, however, there was a definite coldness to Silver Lining's tone, as if he simply hadn't the time for this sort of event. "Though yours is a rather young town when compared to others where we already hold races, it has nonetheless become a nexus for events in Equestria. After all, Princess Luna made her first public appearance since her return in this very square."

A few uneasy murmurs passed through the crowd at this, and Apple Bloom could see one or two ponies nearby look at the ground. Sweetie Belle nervously shifted a foreleg, ears pressed flat against her skull.

If Silver Lining noticed this, his face didn't show it. Nor did he react to a sudden flash, courtesy of a purple pegasus hovering around the podium who had one camera on her flank and another between her hooves.

"There's also your history to consider. The Running of the Leaves ceremony has its start and finish in nearby woods."

The slouches disappeared and the mumbling ceased.

"There's also the Equestria-famous zap-apples, grown right here in Ponyville."

Apple Bloom noticed that one of the pegasi hovering near the stage was scribbling furiously into a notepad. She nudged the other two as she saw just how much they were struggling to fling the quill around with their teeth. She and Sweetie Belle shared a quiet giggle; Scootaloo kept staring at the stage, completely silent.

"And, of course, there's the small matter of those six ponies who saved the world _twice_ calling this town home."

A little dash of pink near the front of the crowd vanished.

"So, with all of that in mind, plus the fact that several competitors and a former Champion have come from Ponyville, we at the ESRA have decided that it's about time a race was held here! Therefore, I can confirm that we will be bringing an S1 Grand Prix to Ponyville in the coming weeks!"

He was almost directly addressing the scribbling pegasus with that last sentence, though that did little to hold back another wave of thundering hooves.

"Although," he continued through a wry smile, "I must say that _somepony_ rather ruined that surprise." He threw The Mayor a conspiratorial look. She flashed back a winning grin.

"Right, onto the details." He cleared his throat, somehow louder than his actual speech. "We are planning to build the circuit a little way out from the village, in a field which was generously leased to us by town hall. For the moment, the circuit is going to be temporary, though if it proves popular enough outside of the main event it may become a permanent structure."

A couple of hooves rose above the mass of manes and ears, and Silver Lining raised his own foreleg over the podium, surprisingly without so much as a creak.

"Now, I know what some of you are wondering about the amount of construction involved with such a project, and I ask you to have faith in us. Our builders are experts in using their magic to make sure that a temporary circuit leaves no impact on the land after it has been tidied away, and most of the structures besides the circuit will be tents."

The hooves in the crowd disappeared.

"Thank you." He smiled. "And, incidentally, some of you may be interested to know that Silky Smooth will _not_ be part of the design team for this track."

"_Yes!_"

"Huh?" Apple Bloom's gaze was drawn to her left, where Scootaloo was raising a hoof triumphantly, grinning with her eyes screwed shut. "Why d'yah say that, Scoot?"

Scootaloo opened her mouth to answer, but all that came out was a nervous chuckle. Apple Bloom looked around. Some of the nearby ponies were giving her friend funny looks.

"I'll tell you later," mumbled Scootaloo, before returning to stare at the stage as if it bore the answer to her every problem.

"-and so I'm sure you can appreciate that, as Ponyville is a rather short-notice addition to the calendar, we are still negotiating with the major teams as to whether this race will count as a Championship round. However, I can guarantee that, providing that there are no mishaps in construction, the race _will_ be taking place in four weeks' time."

A light smattering of stamps followed this for a few seconds, before a wrinkled hoof was raised again.

"Now, there isn't much left for me to say at this point, other than that tickets will be made available from town hall soon."

Apple Bloom felt something softly poke at her side, and she didn't even have to look to know what it was. A quick glance did tell her that Scootaloo's massive, glossy-eyed smile was back. She and Sweetie Belle looked at each other knowingly.

"-course we will keep you updated with any important news as and when it occurs. So…" His yellow gaze ran all over the crowd as the word hung in the stillness. "Do any of you have any questions?" he finished, smiling.

"Come on, let's go," came a brash whisper beside Apple Bloom.

"What?" She looked at Scootaloo. Though her friend's smile refused to fade away completely, it was almost shockingly small when compared to moments before.

"Why?" added Sweetie Belle, stepping behind her to face Scootaloo.

"Well…why not?" asked Scootaloo, again in a whisper. "We've heard all we need to know. Besides, these questions aren't gonna be very interesting."

"How d'yah know that?" asked Apple Bloom, eyebrow rising.

"Yeah," said Sweetie Belle, "there might be somepony out here who's just as big a fan as you are. Maybe they'll ask a good question."

Scootaloo snorted, with just a hint of a smirk. "Doubt that."

"So?" Sweetie Belle put a hoof around Scootaloo's shoulder, her mouth wide in an imploring smile. "You should at least give it a try."

At that moment, their attention was drawn back to the stage.

"Yes, the unicorn mare about three rows back," said Silver Lining, gesturing a hoof at a purple one sticking out near the front of the crowd.

"Silver Lining," said a voice that Apple Bloom found very familiar.

_Great. Twilight's the smartest pony in town, if _anypony_ can find somethin' interestin' t'say, it'll be-_

"What would the implications on the incomes for local businesses be if the race _were_ to be non-Championship?"

* * *

><p>This. Was. AWESOME!<p>

She had already lost count of how many times she had buzzed her wings today, yet they still blurred by her side. She couldn't believe it. They really were bringing a race to Ponyville!

All of the riders would be there, too. Haybale. Storm Cloud. Leeroy Wingkins. Sunny Smiles! She let out a gasp without knowing. They were all coming to town. Maybe she'd get a chance to meet them and bask in their awesomeness! Maybe she'd even get to pick up tips for riding her scooter. Not that she'd need them.

"Say, Scoot?"

Scootaloo was pulled from her daydreams, and looked over at her friends. They were lying on the rug, playing with one of the board games that she and Sweetie Belle had brought in when Apple Bloom had renovated the place.

"I was wonderin'…" continued Apple Bloom, peering over the curls of Sweetie Belle's mane. "What were ya gonna say about that 'Silky Smooth', anyhow?"

"Huh?"

"Silky Smooth," affirmed Sweetie Belle, shifting to face her. "I think he's a track designer?"

Scootaloo's memory jogged itself, and a smirk spread across her muzzle. "He is…if you can call him that."

"Really?" Apple Bloom tilted her head, stepping around the board. "But Ah read all about the racetracks in yer book, and it never mentioned 'em once-"

"Well, no wonder!" cut in Scootaloo, shaking her head quickly. "All his tracks are the same namby-pamby, boring mess! I don't think he'd be able to make a good circuit if Fluttershy used her Stare on him!"

"Wow, _that_ bad?"

Scootaloo nodded at Sweetie Belle, but Apple Bloom was raising a hoof at her.

"Wait. How do _you_ know that, Scoot?"

Scootaloo blinked. "Know what?"

Apple Bloom's smirk contained just a few hints of pride. "How do ya know all of his tracks are boring? Ya know, since ya've never been to a race before."

"I…uh…" Scootaloo brought a hoof to her chin, swallowing the groan she would have emitted had anypony else punctured her with logic like that. "Well…all of the magazines say there's less overtaking at his tracks. And…um…" She tapped her hoof, as if physically trying to shake her thoughts from where they had been shelved. Suddenly, something from the meeting came back to her, and she almost leapt up into the lamp overhead.

"And why else would Silver Lining mention that he's not involved with our track, huh?" she finished, beaming proudly.

However, as other memories of the meeting made themselves known, that smile melted from her muzzle. Her ears fell back as she remembered the little snippets of her friends' conversation, flittering into her ears over the sound of her wings as she rocketed along. And that they were playing a game together.

And that she hadn't joined in with any of it.

"Something wrong, Scootaloo?" asked Sweetie Belle.

Scootaloo held back the sigh, and pushed aside her slouch along with it. "Guys," she began, looking into their eyes as they smiled sympathetically, "I'm sorry that I kinda zoned out on you earlier…"

"Oh, don't worry about that, Scootaloo," replied Sweetie Belle.

"Yeah, we know just how big a thing this race is for you," added Apple Bloom, before they shared a look.

"Besides," continued Sweetie Belle, her smile growing into a grin, "we're just as excited as you are!" Her eyes sparkled.

"Really?" asked Scootaloo, the hints of awkwardness having been lost from her voice, and her own smile returned in earnest.

"Why wouldn't we be?" asked Apple Bloom, walking back to lie down beside the game. "You made it sound like a ton o'fun to go watch, even if you haven't actually done that before."

A small wave of what Scootaloo hesitated to call giggles passed through them, before Sweetie Belle piped up again.

"Yeah, so like we said, don't worry about that, Scoot," she said, shifting the game-set so that it was between her and Apple Bloom. "We'll all go get tickets when they come out. Together," she finished with a smile.

Something about Sweetie Belle seemed a little blurry. Scootaloo's own smile softened.

_As awesome as that race'll be, it isn't nearly as awesome as you guys are…_

Whoa.

She blinked. Where did _that_ come from?

Scootaloo snorted. "Still true, though," she muttered.

"Whassat, Scoot?" asked Apple Bloom, an eyebrow raised, and a smirk playing at her lips.

"Uh…" She put on a massive grin, and everything became so much clearer. "I mean, thanks for all this, guys…"

"Aw, it's nothing, Scootaloo," said Sweetie Belle, waving a hoof dismissively, before pointing it at the board. "Want to play winner?"

Scootaloo smirked. "Yeah, I could do that."

None of them left the clubhouse until well after the Princess had put the sun to rest.


End file.
